Triangle Club of Montgomery County to award 50th Dannehower Award

NORRISTOWN — On May 9, the Triangle Club of Montgomery County will host its 50th Annual Awards Banquet to honor high school seniors who were nominated for the William F. Dannehower Memorial Scholarship by exceling athletically, academically, and in service to the community.

The athletic director from each school in the county is able to nominate one senior and among this year’s 27 finalists are Methacton’s Seline Tan-Torres, Norristown’s Brett Harner, Perkiomen Valley’s Natalie Marsh, Plymouth Whitemarsh’s John Walker, Spring-Ford’s Benjamin Schein, Upper Merion’s Kristina O’Sullivan, and Wissahickon’s Rachel Stone.

“The Triangle Club has three sides: sports, scholastics, and service to the community,” explained Michael Toth, the vice president of the Triangle Club. “It’s difficult for students to be good in all three areas.”

Once the students are nominated, a selection committee evaluates each application and determines which student best exemplifies the qualities of the organization.

“They mull over the packets, which are almost like resumes,” said Toth. “It has their SAT information, their grade point average information, the classes that they took, and then the athletic information in terms of what they participate in and awards they win.”

Letters of recommendations on the behalf of the students are also included in the nomination application.

The Triangle Club was started by a group of businessmen in Norristown and throughout Montgomery County and the award, originally called simply the Sports Award, recognized the best athletes in the area.

“They wanted to honor these high school players,” Toth said. “They really just chose some of the best athletes.”

The first Sports Award was presented in 1964 to Plymouth Whitemarsh’s John Pergine, who went on to play college football at Notre Dame and played for nearly a decade in the NFL, first with the Los Angeles Rams and later with the Washington Redskins.

In 1967, the award was renamed to honor of former Montgomery County judge William F. Dannehower, who passed away the previous year and had served for 28 years as a judge in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. Dannehower was also an athletic standout at Norristown High School in both football and baseball, where he was team captain, played semi-professional baseball in the area and had served in World War I.

During the early years, through their connections in the business world, the founders were able to assemble an impressive list of guest speakers, including Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts and all-star second and third basemen Jimmy Dykes, who played for the Philadelphia Athletics for more than a decade.

As the years progressed, the award evolved to become less sports-centric by placing a greater emphasis on all-around character and in 1982, Perk Valley’s Joanne Kehs became the first female to win the award.

“You’re seeing the best of the best. To just be nominated, you may not be the top one or two there, but you’re amongst quality people from across the county,” said Toth. “They are all very dynamic young students.”

“When you look at the schools that they are going to be attending in the fall, you really see top-notch schools.”

In honor of the 50th anniversary, the club reached out to previous winners about attending the banquet and while many of them are unable to attend due to prior commitments or currently residing outside of the area, Toth confirmed that both Pergine and Kehs will be among the past recipients returning.

The winner of the Dannehower Award will receive a $3,000 scholarship, with the first runner-up receiving a $2,000 scholarship and second runner-up receiving a $1,000 scholarship.